Ball State University Athletics
Men?s Hoops Opens Friday at Utah on Pac-12 Networks
November 13, 2014 | Men's Basketball
Ball State at #25 Utah
Friday, Nov. 14; 8 p.m. MT (10 p.m. ET)
Huntsman Center (Salt Lake City, Utah)
TV: Pac-12 Networks Mountain
Radio: 104.1 WLBC
The Pac-12 Networks broadcast will also be available via a free online stream at pac-12.com/live. All Ball State Radio Network game broadcasts are also available through the Ball State All-Access package.
The Ball State men's basketball team will challenge itself right out of the gate Friday with a road game against a Utah team ranked No. 25 in the preseason AP poll.
The Cardinals are visiting Salt Lake City for the second year in a row as part of a two-for-one contract that will see the Utes come to Muncie next season.
Utah won 21 games last year and played in the NIT. The Utes return all five starters from that team, including Bob Cousy award candidate Delon Wright, and were picked second in the Pac-12 preseason poll behind Arizona.
Ball State counters with a youthful lineup in its second season under head coach James Whitford, especially after a preseaosn injury to junior guard Jeremiah Davis. The Cardinals relied heavily on underclassmen last year and will do so again this season with only one senior on the roster.
That senior is Matt Kamieniecki, who returns from injury for a fifth season. He did not play in last year's meeting, an 88-69 Utah win. Zavier Turner did play that night, early in his MAC Freshman of the Year campaign. He led the Cardinals with 15 points in a game that was within single digits until midway through the second half.
Turner and fellow sophomore Franko House return as starters this season, but the Ball State roster as whole features eight newcomers and five returning letterwinners. Among the new crop of players, freshmen Sean Sellers and Jeremie Tyler and former junior college All-American Bik Gill project to see extensive playing time immediately.
“We want the guys in our program to be significantly improved from season to season, and I think you'll see that,” Whitford said. “The guys in our program coming back have made significant strides. The freshman class we have is off to a great start. I believe in them even more now than I did when we signed them.”
Huntsman History
Ball State's game at Utah last season was not the program's first trip to the Huntsman Center. The Cardinals had previously played three postseason games in the building, including two of the most memorable games in school history during the 1990 NCAA Tournament.
The Cardinals defeated Oregon State, 54-53, in the first round, March 15, 1990. Paris McCurdy completed a 3-point play with no time on the clock to send Ball State to the second round. The Cardinals then beat Louisville, 62-60, to advance to the Sweet 16 in Oakland, Calif., where they fell to eventual national champion UNLV.
Majerus Connection
Ball State and Utah are connected by a common former head coach in the late Rick Majerus. Majerus led the Cardinals for two seasons (1987-89), going 43-17. In his second season, he guided the program to a 29-3 record (the best in school history), a MAC Championship and the program's first NCAA Tournament victory.
Majerus then left Muncie to take the head coaching position at Utah. He coached Utah from 1989-2004, posting a 323-95 record, taking the Utes to 10 NCAA Tournaments and leading them to the national championship game in 1998.
The year after his departure from Muncie, his former assistant Dick Hunsaker led Ball State to the Sweet 16 on Majerus' new home court at the Huntsman Center.
For the most up-to-date news on Ball State men's basketball, follow @BallStateSports, @BallStateMBB and @coachjwhit on Twitter.
